U.S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOREmployment and Training
AdministrationWashington, D. C. 20210

CLASSIFICATION

JPTA

CORRESPONDENCE SYMBOL

TP

ISSUE
DATE

September 27, 1999

RESCISSIONS

None

EXPIRATION
DATE

Continuing

DIRECTIVE

:

TRAINING AND EMPLOYMENT INFORMATION NOTICE NO. 05-99

TO

:

ALL STATE JPTA LIAISONS
ALL STATE WORKER ADJUSTMENT LIAISONS
ALL STATE EMPLOYMENT SECURITY AGENCIES
ALL ONE-STOP CAREER CENTER SYSTEM LEADS

FROM

:

DAVID HENSONDirector
Office of Regional Management

SUBJECT

:

Lifelong Learning Demonstration: Final Evaluation Report on the Experimental Site

Purpose. To announce the publication and distribution of The Lifelong Learning
Demonstration: Final Evaluation Report on the Experimental Site.

Background. The Baltimore Lifelong Learning Demonstration was an innovative pilot project
designed to explore strategies for promoting investment in education and training by currently employed workers in a large
metropolitan area--Greater Baltimore, Maryland. This pilot project was designed to address demands created by an
increasingly volatile labor market, in which workers must move with greater frequency to new jobs and new careers that
require more knowledge and job-related skills. The project made it easier for "mature incumbent workers"
(currently employed individuals age 25 and over who have substantial recent work experience) to explore new career
directions, plan for potential skill needs, and take action to pursue the education and training that will help them
prosper in an increasingly competitive global labor market.

This demonstration also highlighted Federal Direct Student Loans (FDSL) and their use by incumbent workers to finance
investment in their skills. Federal direct student loans with flexible repayment options were enacted into law in 1993.
These loans offer innovative repayment options, including income contingent repayment, in which payments are based on an
individual's income and can be spread out over up to 25 years.

The Lifelong Learning Demonstration was a cooperative effort between the U.S. Department of Labor, the U.S. Department
of Education, the Maryland State Higher Education Commission, and participating post-secondary institutions, including
community colleges, four-year institutions and selected private technical schools, where the Department of Education
facilitated accelerated implementation of the FDSL program.

The Demonstration Project. The Lifelong Learning Demonstration project was designed to:

Develop and test alternative public information approaches for promoting investments in education and training by
incumbent workers.

Determine how incumbent workers make decisions about whether and how to pursue further education and training, and
the barriers they face when they consider going back to school;

Track incumbent workers' interest and participation in further education and training and their use of
student financial aid, and determine what types of support are most important in assisting their participation; and

Determine the financial returns from additional investments in education and training for mature incumbent
workers.

The Final Evaluation Report.The Lifelong Learning Demonstration: Final Evaluation Report
on the Experimental Site presents the findings from the Baltimore-area demonstration regarding the targeted public
information campaign; an analysis of incumbent workers' decision-making process for determining whether to obtain further
education and training, including the key barriers to investing in additional education/training that these workers faced;
and a description of the characteristics of adult students and their schooling experiences, including the types of
education and training programs they pursued, the costs of participating in those programs (both financial and non-financial),
and the most important services that schools could provide for working students.

A follow-up report will analyze the financial returns from mature incumbent workers' investments in education and
training.

Additional Copies. This report has been disseminated to State and local JTPA and WIA
programs. Additional copies can be obtained through the Office of Policy and Research, Dissemination Unit, Room N5637,
200 Constitution Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20210, or call the Publications' Line at (202) 501-8088.

Inquiries. Questions, comments or suggestions should be addressed to Jon Messenger, Office of
Policy and Research, Division of Research and Demonstration, Employment and Training Administration, U.S. Department of
Labor, on (202) 219-7674, ext. 163.